Marinated prawns with Muhammara cream served on Zaatar-flavored spinach

Makes 4 Amuse-Bouches

Ingredients

Prawns: Four prawns, cooked, shelled and cleaned (leave the shell on the tail)

olive oil, salt, pepper

Spinach: 100g fresh spinach, washed and dabbed dry with kitchen paper

One small onion, cut very finely

One garlic clove, cut very finely

1/2 tsp zaatar

20 ml lemon juice

20 ml Monte Vibiano olive oil

salt, pepper

Muhammara cream: 80g walnuts, very finely chopped

25 g fine bread crumbs

25 g shallot, diced very finely

1 tbsp chili paste

5 ml pomegranate syrup

15 ml olive oil,

salt

To garnish: Onion rings

purslane leaves

Preparation: Marinade the prawns in oil and seasoning for several hours. Fry the onions and garlic until golden brown. Add the spinach and mix in quickly to prevent the color of the spinach fading. Add the zaatar and lemon juice, and season to taste. Allow to cool on a flat dish (this ensures no loss of color). To make the Muhammara cream, fry the diced onion in a little olive oil until golden brown. Add a little water to the remaining ingredients before puréeing them in a blender until they have a smooth and creamy texture; stir in the onion and the remaining olive oil. If the Muhammara is still not creamy enough, add a little more olive oil.

To serve: Put the spinach into small individual bowls and place the Muhammara cream and prawns on top. Garnish with onion rings that have been turned in flour and deep fried until golden brown as well as with purslane leaves. Sprinkle with just a few drops of olive oil.

Kitchen calling!

Since living in the Near and Middle East, I’m regularly asked to provide the food for parties whose guests include VIPs, ministers and even heads of state. I’ve often asked myself why, at such parties where snacks and canapés from all over the world are offered, it is rare to find specialties from Arabian countries.

Especially as Arabian snacks are so delicious! This might be because the presentation of Arabian dips and snacks is frequently more or less the same, so that they don’t seem to be particularly creative or interesting? Whatever the reason, we have included several Arabian snacks in this book, in which we have tried to combine tradition and creativity.

As is the case with this recipe: The hot and spicy Muhammara cream used here is a traditional starter that is particularly popular in Syria and Lebanon. It’s usually eaten with Turkish bread to take some of the sting out of the chili.

We combined this cream with spinach and prawns to achieve a novel flavor and also opted for a different presentation. These amuse-bouches are excellent as nibbles at a party. If your guests look a little red in the face after biting into the Muhammara cream, you can tell them that its name embraces the Arabian word for “red” (hamr) and that this may not merely refer to the color of the cream.